Creating a community around your financial advisory blog

Developing a sense of community among your readers can be beneficial in a way that is felt immediately. The biggest benefit that you will realise is the positive vibe among your readers about the fact that they belong to a group. The sense of being a part of a community will always encourage them to share their views and opinions and will turn them into regular visitors. Creating a community will definitely drive your blog’s traffic.

Here’s a summary of how to make your readers more satisfied with your content:

Make your blog unique
Narrow down the focus of what you are writing about. This way, your readers will find it easier to decide if they are interested in your blog or not. Be specific and precise. It will help you hold your reader’s attention and will ultimately result in a strong bond. To build a community around your posts, come up with provocative or catchy titles so that they capture your reader’s mind. Be direct about the topic in question. Avoid general information; the reader is satisfied only when he/she gets a deep and close look at the topic under consideration.

Appreciate comments and opinions
Sharing views always builds a sense of attachment between the reader and the blog post. A reader considers themselves a part of the community, and their confidence rises when they experience that their comments and views are being acknowledged. This creates the urge of exploration of certain topics. The reader should be encouraged to criticise and discuss several issues related to a particular topic. Controversial topics can be dealt with from the reader’s point of view. The reader’s comments may also give you an idea about the level of response and acceptance of your blog.

Promote questions and answers – make your blog interactive
Make your blog interactive with the help of questions that might be asked between the lines. This will make the reader think more and develop their own conclusions. Many times, this will create a sense of curiosity among your readers. Make sure that the questions you ask relate to the topic and not divert the reader’s mind from the main topic. Try to keep in touch with your readers. Do not miss any comments, otherwise you will lose your readers. Answer every single comment with thorough attention and vigilance. Personal interaction will show you what they are interested in. Always try to assure your audience that their queries are very important for you. This could be done by emailing follow-up questions to them.

Ask your readers to leave feedback for the posts
Take your readers’ comments and criticism positively. This is the only way you can have a mass audience for your blog post. Encourage your readers to leave feedback. You may also ask their views directly. Why not enquire about the room for improvement too? Allow your readers to be sceptical. Analyse their views with a sense of positivity.

Encourage blog sharing on various forums
Make it easier for your readers to spread your blog posts and share them with their friends. To get more acceptance and exposure, add social media buttons at the bottom of every blog post. Make it convenient for your readers to share your blogs on multiple platforms. Sharing your posts on Facebook and Twitter will effectively boost your audience. This way, you won’t just gain popularity on several platforms, but your readers will get associated with each other, hence exposure of their opinions and views would also increase.

Any blogger needs to understand that there is no hard and fast rule for success in community blogging. One should keep him/herself out of the illusion that by applying certain strategies, the success is guaranteed. However, your chances of success will definitely rise as social media tools improve. Just remember that in this competitive environment, it is vital to keep your focus on quality, authenticity and creativity.

Paul Bearman, Senior Editor, Goldmine Media

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